5-year-old shot and killed while outside on bike, 25-year-old charged with murder

WILSON, North Carolina (KTRK) -- Cannon Hinnant, the 5-year-old boy tragically shot and killed in North Carolina last weekend, was memorialized with a funeral Thursday.

The shooting happened around 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 9.

When officers arrived, they found Cannon suffering from a gunshot wound. Officers and EMS immediately began performing lifesaving efforts.

The boy was taken to the hospital, where he later died.

Neighbor Charlene Walburn said another neighbor told her that a man walked up to Cannon and shot him.

"Our neighbor saw it. She said the young man just walked up to the little boy who was sitting on his bike, which he does every day," Walburn said. "I just don't understand why he did it. How can you walk up to a little boy, point blank, and put a gun to his head and just shoot him? How could anyone do that?"

"We were eating our dinner and heard a bang," Walburn continued. "We knew it was a gunshot. So I told him to call 911, and I ran to the door."

A suspect, 25-year-old Darius Sessoms, was arrested a day after the shooting on charges of first-degree murder.

Walburn recalled spending time with Cannon.

"He would come over, him and my husband would always talk back and forth, and he would ask my husband to put air in his tire," she said. "If he saw me on the porch with a Popsicle, he would always come over and ask me if he could have a Popsicle."

Hinnant's death has picked up coverage from various nationwide outlets. The boy's family, friends and the city of Wilson, where he was from, have drawn sympathy from all over the country.